Justice News

U.S. Attorney Announces Charges Against 19 Defendants For The Sex Trafficking Of Minor Girls And Young Women In New York State’s Child Welfare System

10 of the defendants in custody; 8 previously arrested; 1 remains at large

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and James P. O’Neill, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing of five indictments and three superseding indictments charging a total of 19 with participating in the sex trafficking of minor girls and young women. As alleged, the defendants trafficked or recruited to engage in prostitution at least 15 minor girls in the child welfare system, including at least nine minors who resided at a particular non-incarceratory residential treatment facility located in Westchester County (“Facility-1”). Facility-1 provided housing for at-risk and troubled children and adolescents on behalf of departments of social welfare for certain counties in New York State.

Eight of the 19 charged defendants were arrested yesterday, two are in state custody on unrelated charges, and eight other defendants were previously charged. One remains at large. These defendants were identified as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the sex trafficking of minor victims, some of whom were as young as 13 years old, in the social welfare system. As detailed below, the charges are set forth in a total of eight separate indictments.

In each of these eight indicted cases, victims of the charged conduct included one or more minors who resided at Facility-1 and were in the New York State’s social welfare system. The conduct charged in the eight cases occurred, as detailed below, between the years of 2010 and 2018.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman stated: “Children in the child welfare system are among the most vulnerable in our society. As alleged in today’s charges, the defendants and their conspirators callously recruited girls as young as 13 from a residential treatment facility for at-risk youth, then sexually trafficked and prostituted them for financial profit. Together with our partners in the FBI, we will work tirelessly to ensure that anyone who sexually traffics a minor is subject to the full force of the law.”

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “Sex traffickers routinely prey on young people and those in our communities who are the most defenseless. As alleged, the defendants targeted vulnerable women and girls, including residents of a facility for at-risk children and adolescents, knowing that the victims would be more susceptible to their claims. The FBI Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Task Force and our law enforcement partners will aggressively pursue and hold accountable anyone who exploits others for their own profit.”

In addition to the charges against the new defendants, Superseding Indictments were unsealed against HUBERT DUPIGNY, HENSLEY DUPIGNY, NAZEER VICKERS, SEAN MERCHANT, REUBEN SANDS, MARTIQUE MCGRIFF, JERMAINE MYRIE, and JABARI KENNEDY, who were first charged in the summer of 2018 for their participation in the trafficking of minor victims and young women.

* * *

If you believe you are a victim of a similar crime, or if you have information concerning the exploitation of children, contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation at (212) 384-1000 or https://tips.fbi.gov/.

A chart outlining the charges and maximum prison sentences for each of the defendants is below. The maximum potential sentences and the mandatory minimum sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants would be determined by the respective judges.

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI, the NYPD, and, in particular, the New York Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. Mr. Berman also thanked the New York City Department of Corrections and the Human Resources Administration for their assistance. The prosecutions of these cases are being handled by the Office’s General Crimes and Public Corruption Units. Assistant United States Attorneys Mollie Bracewell, Elinor Tarlow, Jacob Gutwillig, and Alex Rossmiller are in charge of the prosecutions.

U.S. v. Merchant, et al.,18 Cr. 527 (KMW)

COUNT

CHARGE

DEFENDANTS/AGES

MAX SENTENCE

1

Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking between January 2016 and June 2018

(18 U.S.C. § 1594(c))

Sean Merchant (31)

Martique Mcgriff (30)

Jermaine Myrie (34)

Reuben Sands (59)

Steven Lesane (31)

Life in prison

2

Sex trafficking of a minor under the age of 14 (18 U.S.C. §§ 1591(a), (b)(1), (b)(2), and 2)

Sean Merchant (31)

Life in prison; mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison (under 18 U.S.C. § 1591(b)(2)); and mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison (under 18 U.S.C. § 1591(b)(1))